Outside it had started to snow, the town portraying the perfect Christmas card picturesque.

Inside, Patrick was warm, and happy, knotted up in a tangle of limbs with his girlfriend Ami, he'd never been as happy before; every time he ran his hands through her soft auburn hair a wave of elation washed over him; every chaste kiss he placed on her neck set shivers of delight running up his spine, and the way her lips puckered suggestively as she spoke made him tingle with contentment.

This was it. This was love, this is what everyone searched for, and he had it.

The sex they had had not ten minutes ago had been raw, angry and passionate, and it was the best sex Patrick had ever had.

Somehow, as he hummed a tune to which she tapped it out on his chest, he knew that the moment would be spoilt, though he never pictured it in the form of Pete as he stumbles through the doorway, scattering snow everywhere and shivering. The moment he sets his eyes on Patrick and Ami he blushes, and stumbles back out again, as he mutters apologies.

'I hate your friends sometimes,' Ami says finally, and Patrick has to agree with her silently.

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When he finally catches Peter up, Patrick's out of breath, as Pete can walk ridiculously fast when he wants to. He reaches out a hand to slow him down, but Peter shies away from the touch like an injured puppy. Confused, Patrick sighs in relief as Peter slows though, and catches up with him 'I'm not angry with you about what happened back there' he says after a few moments of awkward silence 'It's just.' Pausing slightly, he racked his brains for a way to describe how he was feeling 'I think I love her. I really do.' And when Peter doesn't answer, he doesn't mind. He wouldn't know what to say either.

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The next few days pass in a blur of sex and nights out and midnight phone calls, and Patrick doesn't think about Pete once; he's a big boy now, he can stand on his own two feet. His mind is preoccupied with Ami. Her body nearly fits perfectly with his. Nearly.

And then one phone call brings his world crashing down. It's Pete's mum, and she's frantic, and her voice is thick like she's been crying, and when she tries to tell Patrick Pete overdosed he wants to laugh, because Peter wouldn't overdose, he wouldn't do that to him. But the distress in her voice indicates that perhaps she's telling the truth, and it kills Patrick to accept that.

He gets to the hospital in ten minutes, surprisingly unscathed, and when he rushes into the waiting room, he notices Pete's parents, Joe and Andy in a huddle, glassy-eyed and silent. He begins to pace, eight steps left, eight steps right, and when the doctors finally come out and Pete's parents go into his room, Patrick nearly doesn't mind, because they are his parents after all. He continues to pace, until they come out again, /finally/,when he corners Joe and Andy, and says

'Ten minutes. That's all I want, ten minutes and then you can go in there.' There's an edge to his voice which warns Joe and Andy not to refuse. Wisely, they accept.

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'Why?' This thought had been running through his mind for around two hours, but only now could he say it 'Why Pete?' Pete doesn't answer for a few seconds, and Patrick wonders for a minute whether he's ingoing him, as he faces the window, hands clenched into fists, but finally Pete speaks, his voice small.

'It's just...' Patrick turns to look at him; his cheeks are flushed, his hair tousled, and he looks so vulnerable and younger than he really is that Patrick wants to slide into the bed and make all the hurt go away. But he can't, so he just slips into the hard hospital chair next to the bed, and waits for Pete to finish, stroking his hair out of his face 'I think I love you.'

His hand retracts from Peter almost as if he'd given him an electric shock. Standing up, Patrick gulped slightly 'I can't do this Pete,' he says finally, looking anywhere but at Pete as he sighs.

'I understand,' he says, and there's a catch to his voice which tells Patrick he wishes he didn't.

Patrick wishes so too.

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A week later Ami dumps him, telling him he's spending too much time checking up on Pete, and not enough time with her. He spends two days in bed, doing nothing but torturing himself with what if's and what could've beens, until Pete decides to step in.

The timid knock on the door, and the nervous manner with which Pete carries himself as he walks into the room startles Patrick slightly, but he grudgingly shifts to give Pete more room as he sits delicately down on the edge of the bed 'I'm glad she's gone,' Pete states finally, and Patrick wants to slap him, hard, but before he can Pete quickly intervenes 'I know I shouldn't. But I do.'

Another few seconds pass and Pete sighs, shifting closer to Patrick 'I want to cheer you up,' he said softly, his fingers pulling the corners of Patrick's mouth up into a lopsided smile, and the careful touch makes Patrick shiver as well as the kiss that follows.

It's gentle and comforting, just what he needs, and the hesitant look in Peter's big brown puppy-dog eyes makes Patrick almost melt.

The sex after that wasn't anything like the rough, angry sex he'd had with Ami; it was comforting and passionate, and it was the best sex Patrick had ever had. His body fitted perfectly against Pete's.

And later, when they were curled up in a tangle of limbs, his hand curled in Pete's sweat damp hair, and Pete's fingers tapping out a vaguely familiar beat on Patrick's chest, Patrick finds himself smiling s Pete asks 'Did I cheat you up?'

Because he has to admit; 'Yes. Yes you did.'

Outside, snow starts to fall, the town portraying the perfect Christmas card picturesque.